5K Run/Walk kicks off festivities

The Jackson County Recreation/Parks Department is still accepting registration for this year’s 5K Run/Walk at Greening Up the Mountains. The annual race takes place at 9 a.m. prior to the opening of the festival events in downtown Sylva. This year, all proceeds will benefit the greenway trail being built at the Webster Department on Aging complex.

This year’s course is new, providing a much more friendly terrain for the race than in previous years. The course runs from Mark Watson Park across Business 23 and down Old Dillsboro Road, then turns around in Monteith Park and comes back on the same route to the finish at Mark Watson Park. This course is primarily flat, with few slopes, but does have one gravel section.

T-shirts are provided with registration and are guaranteed to the first 75 to register. Pre-registration is $20; race-day registration is $25, and begins at 8 a.m. the day of the race. Registration forms may be printed from www.downtownsylva.org.